The Will of an Assassin
by LaspearaWolf
Summary: She has arrived at Masyaf to try and begin a new life and recover from a Templar attack that she and her friends have endured. She works hard to have a place in the brotherhood. However, assassin-life gets complicated when her secrets are discovered. (Altair x OC )
1. Chapter 1

Thanks in advance for reading!

Sorry to start off with an Authors note. *get shot* (you can also find me on wattpad at Laspeara)

Just wanted to mention a couple of things.

First of all, this will have some elements from the Assassins Creed game mentioned but it will not follow the game to a T. Such as:

Al Mualim will NOT be a secret Templar. He is an assassin to the core. And I'm unsure if I want to mention the Apple of Eden yet or not...

This is also probably not going to be historically accurate, as in nationalities/races etc. I'm sorry if that bugs anyone. History is not my thing. I did try and do research...but...I decided to say fuck it.

Speaking/Language. I know back then the speech was different, I will try my best buuuuttt honestly I'm not going to try that hard. Also, it's going to be a mature fanfiction so there will be swearing, blood, fighting, possibly love scenes etc.

This is an OC but you can insert yourself no problem if you want this to be a reader insert.

So because of the above mentioned, I did place an AU tag.

Also! I don't have a set upload schedule. :P I'm busy with work and my cosplays so it's hard sometimes to squeeze in story writing.


	2. Arrival

The sound of hooves could be heard stomping loudly through a seemingly barren land. The dust and dirt being kicked up underneath their heavy feet, tired from a long journey. A few small creatures scurry into hiding as the old rickety wagon rolls through the rough, dry terrain.

This horse-drawn wagon is led around a high wall bend made of stone, with small bushes decorating the base and browned vines clawing their way to the peak. The hot sun bears harshly down at the riders, as no shade is anywhere in site to shield their forms.

"Ladies! We are almost there!" A charming male's voice carries to the back of the uncovered cargo.

"Hey..." An auburn-haired woman lazily rubs her chocolate eyes in an attempt to wake herself. She slowly rolls over to look at the robed figure lying next to her. She reaches out to their shoulder and gently shakes it.

"Hey, we are almost there...you wanted us to wake you up so you can prepare..." The woman yawns out again.

"Rakan...shaking is not working..., "The woman rotates her head, popping her neck in the process.

"Delilah, stop popping your neck that's not healthy." The blonde male holding the reign's frowns at the woman called Delilah. His sky-blue orbs peer over his shoulder to look at hers.

"Maybe if you snatch one of the knives..." A smirk appears on his face.

"Are you crazy? I will get pinned down and probably stabbed!" Delilah grabs her small satchel and tosses it at Rakan's face.

"It's alright...I'm awake...you two are so loud..." The robed figure continually grumbles out incoherent words.

As the figure sits up, their small fingers reach up to rub at their eyes. A yawn escapes a set of lips, followed by a bone popping stretch, in which Rakan recoiled at the sound. In the motion of the stretch, the hood of the robe falls off to reveal a young woman with a heart-shaped face, small button nose accompanied by full lips. Her platinum blonde hair, tied in braids, flow freely behind her, her hands settle down on her lap for Delilah to scan her amethyst eyes.

"Sorry Crystal, we know you are tired due to all the fighting you did to protect us...but we are almost there and I know you want to prepare yourself for what's to come." Delilah rubs her shoulder.

"Yeah...thanks, Delilah. Rakan can you stop the horses for a moment?" Crystal looks at the back of Rakan's head waiting for a response. The male keeps his eyes forward but replies with a nod. He pulls back on the reigns stopping the horses.

Crystal gracefully leaps over the edge of the cargo and walks to greet the horses, with a fist full of oats. She pats the white colored horse that was picked up along the way for their journey, "We still need to give you a name pretty one. Have a little snack," Crystal opens her hand up for the young mayor to snack on the oats.

"Let's name her Willow!" Delilah pipes in with a huge smile on her face.

"Took you long enough to come up with a name for her," Rakan hops down from his seat and pats the young mayor, "Willow suites her."

"I wanted to make sure her name was perfect," Delilah huffs out as she too greets the horses. Rakan retaliates with a smart-ass comment which provokes Delilah to start a one-sided argument. Crystal lets out a sigh as she walks over to the other horse.

"Hey Chief," Crystal pats the black mustang and he stomps in reply, "We are almost there, and here I have a treat for you as well." Crystal reaches into her pocket and pulls out a green apple, which Chief greedily snatches from her hand. She would usually scold her mustang companion for his greed but she lets him off the hook due to all his hard work for the past month.

"Crystal, "Rakan steps over to her petite form, "How are you going to become a part of the brotherhood? You know how gender strict they are. One other woman in history tried to become a part of their brotherhood but they failed her, and they don't even train their women that are born into the brotherhood."

Crystal ponders this small dilemma for a few minutes while brushing away some of the grime and dirt that was stuck to Chief. He whinnies in a happy response as his coat is being somewhat cleaned.

"Well," She replies," While we were resting, I had this idea...I'm not sure how well it would work though..."

"Because your ideas always work," Delilah rolls his eyes.

"Well...let's hear your idea," Rakan encourages Crystal to relay her thoughts.

"I will disguise myself as a male assassin," Crystal states aloud, seeming very proud of her idea.

"Um," Rakan starts out but gets interrupted by Delilah.

"Are you crazy!? If you get caught there is a good chance they would kill you for being an imposter! Also, how could you hide your chest?! Your face! You have a nice body with the right curves in the right places, as well as a pretty face with full lips!" Dahlia pokes Crystals chest and hips to emphasize her curves, and then proceeds to poke her face.

"Do you ladies need some alone time?" Rakan wiggles an eyebrow at the two women.

"Shut up Rakan! This is serious. Crystal has watched over us way too many times and always has our back. We need to play our part in protecting her as well." Delilah retaliates practically spitting in Rakan's face.

"Speak for yourself. Since I'm a trained doctor I've helped her plenty of times." He replies casually.

"That's not the point," Delilah huffs out.

"You don't have to protect me...more like, go along with my plan. Stop bickering and listen to the rest of my idea, " Crystal rubs her temple in annoyance, " Let's pack up, and I'll tell you what I've been planning."

The two stopped their small bickering and nodded their head at her. Rakan sits back up at the head of the cargo prepping for the final stretch. Crystal and Delilah hop into the back of the cargo checking their possessions. As they rummage through the items Crystal recites her idea.

"I will pretend to be a young male assassin about age 16 or so. I may be short, but I'm fast and skilled with my bow and throwing knives, so they may not question my small stature. As for my body, I will bind down my chest and make sure my robes are a little baggier at my hips," Crystal states.

"Rakan since you are a doctor I'm sure you can convince the Master that I'm only allowed to visit you when injured, that way no one can find out I'm a woman." Rakan appears to want to reply but keeps his thoughts to himself until Crystal is finished.

Delilah opens her mouth to probably begin some sort of argument but Crystal slaps her hand over her lips without hesitation. Delilah is shocked at her fast reflex but nods in understanding. Crystal removes her hand and continues.

"My hair will be braided under my hood; I have sewn some clips in the hood that will attach to my braids to help keep my hair covered and my hood on my head. It's slightly uncomfortable but it will work. Lastly, my face...I...will cover the bottom half of my face with this black cloth to hide some of my features. So for my voice...I will not speak." Crystal finishes.

"How will you be able to ask the Master to let you become a part of their brotherhood?" Delilah wonders.

"You two will come with me. Rakan Avariyas, talk to the Master and tell him that you're a doctor and make up some story about how I lost my voice in a fight and that I'm self-conscious about the scar on my neck. Delilah Madrona, since you were lucky enough to be educated perhaps you can convince the Master to let you teach young assassins how to read and write." Crystal voice fades to a whisper as she begins to come up with plan B and plan C.

"Crystal Larimar, you are a master assassin. With your skills and the age you claim to be, they may get suspicious." Rakan finally lets his thoughts speak out. Crystal can see Delilah hold back her thoughts as well.

"I'll pretend to be a novice or lower rank than I actually am. I will make this work. Delilah, what's on your mind? Speak."

"Even if they let you be a part of their brotherhood. They may not let Rakan work as an assassin doctor or even me as an assassin educator." Delilah frowns.

The wagon wheel squeaks' filling the silence as they approach their destination. Crystal ponders the fates of her friends and the fate of herself. _'Even if I can't become an assassin at this new brotherhood...I will do whatever it takes to make sure Delilah and Rakan are safe and happy.'_

"I will do whatever it takes to make sure you two are comfortable and happy. You two are my best friends and I will never let anything happen to you ever again. If the plan does not fall through, either way, in order for us to get our lives back we will need to adapt." Crystal keeps her voice firm; her head forward and her eyes sharp so no argument will begin. Her decision in this is final. They come first.

The ride continues on in silence once again after that firm demand Crystal has given. _'That may have seemed harsh, but this place is the closest Assassin Brotherhood. This is the best place for us. They did blindly agree to my decision of taking them here, but..is this okay? Did they agree with me just because of what happened?'_ Crystal stays lost in her thoughts until her shoulder is shaken by someone.

"What? What", Crystal focus on the one that shook her shoulder.

"Where here Crystal," Delilah nods at her then turns her face forward.

"Focus everyone, we can do this." Rakan lets out a deep breath.

Crystal stands up in the unsteady wagon to get a better view of her new home.

"Masyaf."

 **A/N**

 **Last name meanings.**

 **Larimar: strength and courage to speak openly from the heart, also divine feminine**

 **Avariyas: Charming, Attractive**

 **Madrona: Mother, Protective**


	3. Confrontation

_**A/N**_

 _ **So I generally don't want to go into detail about clothes unless I think its necessary. So you can imagine how you want the clothes, unless described. But I do feel it's a little necessary to talk about Crystals current robes.**_

 _ **I imagine her sporting the male robes (to help hide her figure) but the male robes of her original brotherhood clan have some extra details on the robes. Basically, there are extra gray markings (almost like bias tape) on the robes. I hope I can describe this so it makes sense but the gray marks come down from the shoulders down to the edge of the robes. Basically, it follows the hem of the robes.**_

As the wagon approaches the stable to Masyaf, Crystal, with Delilah's help, binds down her chest. ' _Not the most comfortable thing but it must be done'._ She adjusts her hood so it stays firmly in place to cover her long platinum hair as well as partially covering the top of her head. Lastly, she pulls the thin black cloth over her mouth.

"Ok, remember, I can not speak due to my throat getting sliced in a fight. So you two will have to think on your feet if any questions arise. And also...thanks. You know how much being an assassin means to me. You know I would do anything for you two, right?" Crystal gets off the back of the wagon as it approaches the stables.

"Hey, we have your back. We will make this work. We want this just as much as you do," Rakan smiles at her in response.

"Yes, Crystal. Our motivations differ, but we want a new home just as much as you, "Delilah replies as she gets off the wagon.

"I'll talk to the stables boy when he approaches, about sheltering the horses, why don't you to start getting the items off the wagon?" Delilah takes a couple of bags from the wagon and sets them on the dusty ground.

Crystal nods in response. _'Time to start my silence.'_ She begins grabbing their belongings along with Rakan.

"Nice horses. Need to stable them for the night?" A young boy asks Crystal. She nods in response, and the boy gives her a funny look.

"Wait! We actually plan on moving here, so we need a permanent place for them." Delilah gives the boy a sweet smile, batting her eyes in the process. She rushes over to the horses dragging the boy with her.

"This sweet mayor here is Willow. This tough mustang is Chief. He can be sweet, but most of the time he's uh...well he has a strong will. Just be respectful to him and he will respect you back. Here, I'll help you bring them into the stables." Delilah helps the boy unhook the horses from the wagon and lead them to the stables that are for permanent residence. She chats his ears off with her question on how much it will cost to feed them daily and other small details.

"Hey," Rakan pokes Crystal, "I'm going to go chat up that pretty village woman over there, see if there is a place we can crash at until we are able to talk with the Master of the assassins. Watch our stuff." He gives her a wink and dashes off to talk to the village woman.

Crystal shrugs in response at his antics and turns to their belongings. She stacks their supplies and satchels in a messy pile than settles in them. She pulls out one of her knives from her belt and focuses on sharpening it. Satisfied with her work, she pulls out another knife, failing to notice a couple of males in white robes looming over her.

"Hey! Novice! We asked you a question." A male voice reaches her ears, yet she continues to sharpen her knives.

 _'Of course. The first assassins I run into seem to be full of themselves. I guess the rumors are true. Masyaf is filled with cocky assassins. Maybe I will have to teach them a lesson_ ' Crystal grins to herself. She continues to sharpen her knives, but glances up at the two males, her brows furrowed in annoyance.

As a response to being ignored by the petite assassin, they grab some of the travel satchels and bags and toss them in the nearby fountain, laughing at their own immaturity levels. Crystal, annoyed at their antics, retaliates in one swift motion. She steps in front of one of the assassins, grabs his wrist with her right hand, and with her left, she pushes up hard underneath his chin. She released his wrist moments after her palm connected to his thick jaw, with the momentum of her 'push' he loses his balance and stumbles onto his back.

' _Funny, they keep calling me a novice, yet they fail to see that I'm not apart of their brotherhood. Maybe I should have held back, at least his jaw didn't shatter Might be missing a tooth or two.'_

"Do we need to teach you a lesson to respect your superiors you Novice?!" The burlier and more hairy of the two spit out. He walks to her form fist ready to draw blood. A small group of villagers begins to crowd around the 3 assassins to watch the commotion. They whisper and chat amongst themselves, curious as to what egged on members of the brotherhood to fight each other.

 _'Respect? They disrespected me first. This new challenger appears stronger...but slow.'_ Crystal smirks underneath her mask. It's been awhile since she's had a decent fight. Bandits don't put up much of a challenge.

"My fist will be more than enough to challenge you kid." He cracks his knuckles, and without warning swings to jab at Crystal's right cheek.

 _'So slow.'_

She ducks underneath his clumsy fist, with her palms out she readies to shove his chest, but hesitates as a knife flies in-between her and the man. She plants her right leg forward to stop her momentum and uses it to kick herself back away. Her head turns to the source of the knife wielder, another assassin approaching them with a scowl on his face.

"You two disgrace us! You're causing a commotion in the middle of the village and drawing attentions to yourselves! You're both novices! Can you not see that this assassin is not part of our brotherhood? Al-Mualim will know of this and see you punished!" A black-short-haired assassin scolds the other two assassins.

"Malik, we were only having fun. We were toying with the boy. We knew he wasn't a part of our brotherhood," The scruffier haired assassin stated.

"I don't need to hear it. Tell it to our Master, Abbas. Now get back to the fort before you disgrace us even further!" He spats out.

The two shamed assassins head through the dispersing crowd away from the commotion they started. The man that was called 'Malik' turns to face Crystal; she keeps a defensive stance, her shoulders tense, ready to defend herself in case he strikes.

"I do not know why an assassin from another brotherhood is here, but you better state your business with Al-Maulim and be on your way. Although you defended yourself well against those two idiots, it caused a ruckus amongst the villagers." He walks past her, picks up the knife he through and heads up a slope, but he stops abruptly and turns to face her.

"Brother, what's your name, and what brings you here to Masyaf? I'll inform our Master of what happened if he doesn't know already. "

Crystal bites her lower lip as she can not respond to his question. _'Taking a vow of silence was not smart. I can write to him though_.' She pats at her pockets hoping to find ink and parchment.

Malik lifts a brow wondering why the young man wouldn't respond.

"Fine, no need to tell me. Keep it between yourself and the Master. Make sure you see him as soon as you are able too." With that, he turns back around and heads up the slope.

She watches him walk away, an inaudible sigh escaping her lips. Unsure if the sigh is out of relief or out of frustration. More so of frustration because some of her belongings ended up in the fountain.

Crystal looks around the area trying to spot her friends, they seem to be nowhere in site so she quickly gathers her soaking wet items from the fountain and returns to her previous supplies she left by the stables. While waiting for her two friends she decides to sort out the wet items determining which items would need to be washed and which items can just hang to dry.

She continues to rummage through the belongings, her hands feel a textured top and she pulls part-way out of the bag so only her eyes can see it. The item is a beautiful cut-off top decorated in beautiful golden jewels mixed with some light blue jewels. Crystal knows the item well as this was her mother's belly dancer top that she passed down onto her. _'This will be the first thing I wash...'_

"Hey! The horses are put away all nice and comfortable! Although Chief did give the stable boy a hard time..." Delilah skips over, "Why some of the satchels wet?"

Crystal shakes her head in reply indicating that she will tell her later.

"I got us a place! It was abandoned so we can use it for as long as we need. Plenty of room, it's also it's not surrounded by other houses so we can talk freely there; " Rakan walks over to the two women, "Why is some of our stuff wet?"

"I just asked that. Let's go to that house, I'm sure we will find out once we are away from everyone," Delilah responds.

 _'I guess they really didn't see that scene that unfolded. I'll explain everything to them once there are no ears and eyes. Then I"ll meet with the Master right away in the morning.'_

The trio gathers their belongings and head to the abandoned house to reside in. While Rakan and Delilah argue over who gets the biggest room, Crystal occupies the room closest to the entrance. She opens up her wet bags and pulls out her soaked items a frown plastered on her face. She wrings out the wet items, outside of her window, one-by-one, then hangs them on the sill in hopes the evening sun can dry them out.

The last items to be wrung out is the belly dancer top and the golden matching bottom. _'I'll have to ask Delilah to wash this for me...it would look weird if I cleaned this.'_ Crystal packs the belly dancer outfit into a clean bag and heads out of her room to find her friends.

Crystal walks around the entire house with no friends in site. She steps outside, to hear their voices at the back of the house. She rounds the corner to find them in what seems like a deep conversation. She approaches them as Delilah spotted her.

"We were checking to make sure no one was around because we should probably talk about a couple of things...And why did some of our stuff get wet!?"

"Right, no one is sneaking around or snooping, so let's head inside and discuss some details, "Rakan states than passes the ladies to go inside the house.

The other two follow his steps and they decide to settle in a small spaced room that has no windows that would be perfect for storage. As they settle down and get comfortable, Crystal, much to her relief, pulls off her mask and hood.

"Delilah, Rakan, let me speak first because who knows how long I will be able to speak, "Crystal waves her hand in front of the two prevent them from speaking or interrupting her.

"Our items got wet because I ignored two assassins from this brotherhood. They wanted my attention, got angry and tossed the items into the fountain, "Crystal starts, "So, I smacked the wrist of one of them to stop them. Long story short, we started fighting. Well, more like I kicked their asses, but none of us got hurt," She shrugs.

"How immature, "Delilah mutters.

"And you want us to be a part of that brotherhood, "Rakan snorts.

"That was only two assassins. That doesn't mean the entire brotherhood is at fault for those actions, "Crystal defends, "Besides, one other assassin stopped our fight and yelled at us. He seemed mature and had his head on straight. But...uh...he asked for my name, and I realized I didn't come up with a name, plus I couldn't tell him anyway. Luckily he told me to meet with the Master, Al-Mualim, and he walked away." Crystal finishes.

"Well, Rakan and I were talking too. If we aren't able to be a part of the brotherhood then we will take up residence in this house and just live among the villagers and help you out if we can, "Delilah starts. Crystal frowns as a response.

"But, "Rakan jumps into the conversation," I'm a charmer, "He winks at the two women in which Delilah replies with rolling her eyes.

"I've been snooping around in that short time that we were separated; the educators and doctors actually do not live in that assassin tower. Only the assassins do. The doctors and educators are called upon as needed. So even if we are able to be a part of the brotherhood, we still would not be able to be near you as much as you would like." Rakan finish with a more serious tone.

"That's completely different from where we grew up..." Crystal starts to become lost in thought. _'Living with the brotherhood without them will be much harder. But, I can make it work.'_

"It's alright Rakan, I can make do."

"Ralf!" Delilah shouts and startles the other two.

"What?" Crystal tilts her head.

" You said you needed a name. Your name will be Ralf!" Delilah pats Crystals head.

"That name doesn't really suit her..."Rakan mutters.

"Fine, I'll use it. It doesn't matter what name I use." Crystal cuts off Rakan.

"It's getting late. Let's rest up." Delilah stands up letting out a big yawn.

"I agree, night ladies!" Rakan quickly leaves the small storage-like room.

"Hey, Delilah, could you wash and clean my belly dancer outfit? It was in one of my bags that got wet. Also, it would look weird if I washed it." Crystal stretches.

"Oh! Of course. I'll wash it for you as soon as I can." Delilah replies.

"Thanks. I owe you."

"Pfft, you don't owe me anything. It's the least I could do...hold on. Rakan! "Delilah screams out. " You sneaky son-of-a...I'm getting the big room!" She dashes out after the charmer, many choice words reaching Crystals ears.

Crystal returns to her room and gathers her pillows and blankets to lie upon. She lay among the warmth from the fabrics and feathers, hoping sleep would find her fast. However, sleep did not come to her, her stomach full of butterflies from excitement and nervousness. She tossed and turned, as her thoughts would occupy her mind.

 _'This is it. We have come a long way since the Templar's attacked our home. I want to kill those bastards that destroyed our home, my family, and my friends. But father always said revenge is not the answer. I miss them...my brother...mother...father.'_

Crystal wipes a couple of tears from her cheeks as she re-positions herself to face out the window. The cool night air circulating through-out her room and the noises from the natural life finally lulls her to sleep.


	4. Past

"Crystal!"

"Crystal!"

"Crystal Larmiar!" A sweet, yet demanding voice reaches the young teen's ears.

"What mother!? I'm practicing my dance moves just like you asked!" Crystal yells back at her mother while swaying her hips and rolling back her shoulders in unison with her fluid arm movements.

"Yes, and I appreciate you practicing, but I yelled your name three times, "Mother huffs out, "Come inside when your done. We have much to discuss."

"Fine." Crystal replies. ' _This better not take long. I have the Proving I need to get ready for.'_ Crystal finishes practicing her dance routine, washes the small amounts of sweat rolling down her bare stomach and returns to the house.

When Crystal was younger she hated that her parents forced her to learn dance so she could become a belly dancer just like her Mother. Meanwhile, her older brother, Keaton, is training to become an assassin just like her Father. She thought it was unfair and has been determined to become a female assassin.

There were would be times where she would sneak off to watch the young boys train. She absorbs their tactics, watched them carefully and then put into practice what she saw. She quickly realized that her movements were fluid and came naturally to her. She bet she could beat out all those young boys and even reach master assassin status before them.

Every time she saw something new, she would sneak off into a nearby forest and practice. She would attack the trees, slash at their bark, their branches, and then climb them and jump off since she did not have the luxury of climbing buildings without being spotted. The rocks in the rushing river were good tools to practice her free running and to control her balance. Her dancing lessons also give her a great advantage in balance and motion.

Over the next year, her older brother finally caught on to her sneaking out every night. He decided to follow her. To his surprise, she was hard to track, he wondered when she learned to blend in with her surroundings and sneak around so well. In his attempts to follow her, he would lose her. After a couple more months he finally got a break in following her, she slipped up and he tracked her down.

He found her, free-running, climbing and hitting trees with weapons. He smirks to himself, _'So she really did want to become an assassin...so she's been trying to train. Typical little sister. Hmmm, well, I see her potential...she's fast, and great at sneaking around. I'll watch her a little more.'_

Eventually, he caught on to Crystals training patterns. She would practice what he has been practicing in the training grounds with his brothers. Weeks went by when he would follow her out and observe her training from affair. _'She's getting good. She really could become an assassin._ S _he's so determined to prove Mother and Father wrong. Alright...I'll help her train_.'

Keaton emerges from his hiding spot to approach his younger sister. She's so engrossed in her practice that when Keaton steps on a twig and snaps it, she turned around ready to pounce, throwing a knife in his direction. Keaton easily deflects the knife with his dagger.

Crystal blankly stares at her brother, mouth agape. The siblings just stare at each other for a couple of minutes. Neither of them moving, but neither dropping their guard, shoulders tense, hands ready to grab the nearest weapon. After Crystal realizes her self-taught training lessons were discovered, she shakes her head and looks at the stolen weapons surrounding her. She gathers them in her arms with an attempt to hide them from her brother.

"Um...Crystal...I already saw them..." Keaton rubs the back of his head.

"What are you doing here!? How did you find me? I was sure my sneaking out was perfect..," Crystal continues to mutter as panic sets in.

"Don't tell Dad...Please please please don't tell Mom! Don't tell them!" Her voice squeaks.

"Sister," Keaton laughs at her antics as she scrambles around, "Hey, I've known you have been doing this for a while now. I just decided it's time I step in and help you train."

"Wait...train? You...want to help me?"

"Yes, I noticed you have great potential. I think you would make a great assassin." Keaton replies smugly.

"Great! When do you start training me? Oh! Let's start now!" Crystal grabs a dagger and readies to face her brother, "You won't tell Mom and Dad will you?"

"Nah, they will kill us both if I did."

"Than how can I prove myself? How can I prove that I'm just as capable as anyone else?" Crystal frowns.

"How about this...when ever young assassins turns 16, they must participate in the proving trials. Enter, pass, and Dad and Mom should see how capable you are," Keaton pulls out his dagger.

"Let's train!" He rushes at Crystal without any warning.

()

"Alright, Mom, what is it that you want to talk with me about?" Crystal sits on a chair across from her mother.

"Crystal, honey, you are sixteen years old. It's time you get married. I arranged a meeting for you to meet a nice young lad tonight. He's just a couple years older than you and..." Mother starts.

"No! I do NOT want to get married. I have plans Mother! Don't go arranging meetings with some guy and expect me to like him." Crystal starts to fume. Her mother tried this couple of times before when she turned 15. She went along with it at first to see her mother happy. She tried starting relationships, but in the end, it didn't work out.

"Dear, I just want to make sure you have a good man to start a family with and that you will be provided for. Hear me out..."Crystal slams her hands on the table between them, using more force than needed to stand from her chair, causing the chair to squeal against the floor.

"Mother, I do not wish to hear it. I will not meet with this "lad". I have plans, and if everything works out I will be able to provide for myself. I do not need my future written out for me. Don't wait up for me, I will be out late." Crystal doesn't let her mother speak as she stomps out of the house to meet up with her brother.

"Why are you frowning?" Keaton ponders as Crystal approaches him.

"Nothing...just...," Crystal huffs, "Mom's trying to arrange and plan my future again."

"Ah...well, don't be so hard on her. Remember she didn't have a choice when she married Father. She learned to love him, and he learned to love her. She only wants you to be comfortable and happy."

"If she wants to me to be happy she should understand that I have no interest in being married and that I have my own plans." Crystal smirks as she daydreams about her being a master assassin.

"Well, your plans aren't going to work if you keep daydreaming and don't put your words into action. C'mon we need to get your disguise ready for the Proving tonight." Keaton ushers his sister along to prepare for the long trial ahead of her.

()

The brilliant morning sun leaks through a window, bathing Crystals pale skin giving it a slight honey glow. The sunlight glimmers over her closed lids, causing her thick lashes to flutter open, her amethyst eyes greeted by the warm rays.

 _'Go away sun._ '

The twenty-six-year-old reluctantly pulls her body up into a sitting position, stretching out her muscles from a well rested night. She ponders her dream of the past. Mixed emotions flood through her, the happiness of how she proved everyone that she could be an assassin, sadness at the lost of her family, friends, and her home.

A soft rasp at the door echoes throughout her room pulling her form her thoughts and emotions that threaten to boil over. When Crystal doesn't reply to the 'knock', another rasp echoes through her room, shortly followed by a soft voice.

"Hey, you should get up, eat something, I bet you're nervous. We should get to the tower as early as we can to settle this matter quickly," Delilah's motherly voice carries well, even though it's soft.

"Alright," Crystal replies hoarsely, her voice almost completely failing her. She assumes Delilah heard her reply as no other noises at her door was made.

She gets off of her plush pillows and blankets and puts on her robes. After fully dressing and arming herself with her usual knives, daggers, her quivers filled with arrows at her back, and lastly her trusty bow (she was actually never really skilled with a sword) she steps out to greet her friends.

"Morning sunshine!" Rakan states out while sipping at a dark liquid from his cup. Rakan was always up before everyone else, he is what you call a 'morning' person. Maybe it's because he's a doctor.

"Sit, and eat some bread." Delilah chirps out. She too is what is called a "morning" person. Crystal tries to sleep in as much as possible. As much as she enjoys the sun, she does not like being up at the crack of dawn. Not necessarily a good trait for an assassin to have, something her father always lectured her about.

Crystal grumbles out a response and munches away on some bread. Rakan and Delilah come up with a "plan of attack" to put into motion when they talk to the Master of this brotherhood Al-Mualim. She tries to listen in, but loses focus and begins to nod off at the table.

"Hey! Focus!" Delilah snaps her fingers in front of Crystal.

She shakes her head, and gently pats her cheeks with her palms. _'I really hate being up this early. But it is what is best in order for us to meet with the Master.'_ They finish their food, clean up and head out towards the tower. Crystal adjusts her hood to cover her hair, and her mask to cover the bottom half of her face and her neck.

The streets of Masyaf echo with the sounds of the early morning village life. Wooden stands selling their newly made wares, fisherman trying to sell their freshly caught fish, and bakers selling their fresh bread. Each villager routine like muscle memory for them, their pattern repeated on daily bases. Crystal, Delilah and Rakan push through the crowds to reach the steep slope that leads up to the towers of the assassins. As they reach the gate at the top of the slope, two assassin brothers block their way.

"Villagers aren't allowed here without good reason." The left assassin bluntly states arms crossed over his chest.

"We seek an audience with the Master, Al-Mualim, it seems our friend here caused a ruckus in the village the other day and he wishes to apologize for his disrespect," Rakan replies back coolly.

Crystal steps forward and nods towards the two soon to be brothers. The one crossing his arms replies back with a nod, the other one, points out at her, she recognizes him as being called "Abbas".

"You! You're that novice that got me in trouble, "Abbas shouts out. "Let them pass, I'm eager to hear what Al-Mualim will do to this young lad." He smirks down at Crystal's small form. She stares back up at him, her eyes not leaving his. _'Did you forget that I beat you yesterday?'_ Crystal smirks underneath her mask.

The assassins step aside to let the trio pass through. The walk past the training grounds was a couple of boys were locked in a scuffle. Their trainer seeming very pleased with their fight. Crystal notices a tower to the right, a couple more boys scaling its rocky texture, trying to reach the top. She frowns when she looks at her form. _'I might not be able to pass for a sixteen-year-old...the boys here are tall...I'm just short..._.'

They continue through the main tower, stone steps perfectly aligned with one another. The walls ornate with rows of bookshelves reaching from the floor to the ceiling, with flags decorated with the assassin's symbol hanging from the top edge. Each shelf containing infinite vast knowledge carefully organized inside scrolls and books. As they approach the top of the steps to reach the second floor a familiar assassin stops them.

"State your business and then Al-Mualim may speak with you." He looks them over, looking over Crystal a couple of times. "You! You're the one that caused that ruckus the other day. Master has been meaning to speak with you. You did give me your name last time."

 _'Oh,...it's the one named Malik At least the level-headed assassin around here is on guard and not those immature ones._ '

"Excuse my interruption, but our young assassin here cannot speak." Rakan speaks, "But his name is Ralf." He gives Crystal's shoulder a hard smack, causing her to lurch forward but she steadies herself, giving him a glare.

"I see. Wait here, I will tell the Master you have arrived." Malik turns on his heels and heads to the center of the room. A minute or two has passed, and then loud voices reach the trios ears.

"Stay out of this Malik! The Master did not ask your opinion," A deep-voice laced in venom spits out.

"Hey may not have asked for my opinion, Altair, but at times like this sometimes it is needed." Malik hisses back.

"Enough!" An authoritative voice rings out, "You two are fighting like children. Malik, I appreciate the opinion, but at this time, Altair is right, it is not needed unless I ask it of you. Please escort the visitors to me. Altair, we shall discuss this at a later time. Now leave." The voice commands respect. Crystal shivers, her nerves getting to her.

 _'I may assume that that man is the Master. He sounds very intimidating. My Father was authoritative like that as well. I never found him intimidating though, well he was my father."_ Crystal continues to ponder while she waits for them to be called to meet him, her nerves continuing to fester.

"Out of my way!" A fairly tall assassin walks towards them at an alarming speed, he does not give them time to move, as he uses his broad shoulders to shove his way through.

"Once again...all the assassins have been so rude," Delilah whispers meekly, hoping the hot-headed assassin didn't hear her.

"Come, Master Al-Mualim will see you now, and don't mind him, cocky-bastard. That's just Altair, he gets that way when the Master scolds him." Malik ushers them onward.

The trio is greeted by a neatly organized desk with parchment and ink waiting to be used. More rows of bookshelves on either side of the room. A couple of scholar looking assassins quickly scramble into the rows, fill their arms with scrolls and leave just as quickly as they arrived.

"Master..." Malik begins.

"Thank you, Malik, you may leave." Crystal turns her head to see an older man standing at a very large window at the back of the rounded room. He releases a pigeon out into the world to seemingly deliver a message attached to its thin scaly leg. When he turns around to face the group, Malik gives a respectful bow and promptly leaves.

"What brings you to Masyaf?" Al-Mualim greets.


	5. Meetings

"What brings you to Masyaf?" Al-Mualim asks without hesitation.

Crystal looks over the Master. His voice soft-spoken with his question; Crystal has no doubt that he can raise his voice if needed. His face shows his age, but with his age comes his wisdom and experiences he has endured throughout all of his life. He appears blind in his right eye, but she assumes that he perfectly fine.

"Al-Mualim, please let me apologize on behalf of my young assassin friend here. He was the one that caused part of the ruckus in the village the other day," Rakan starts.

Al-Mualim looks over the trio, his stare resting on Crystal. He briefly looks her over, and then he runs a shaky hand through his long gray beard.

"In this case, you should be punished, but I can see you are not a part of this brotherhood. I'm assuming you are a part of another clan, correct? I can overlook this incident as I'm aware you were not the cause of the trouble, plus, I'm curious about your presence and your skills," He replies.

"Yes, you are correct. We are from the clan north of here, overseas. We seek to live here in Masyaf." Delilah begins, in response; Al-Mualim lifts up his brow as if to question them more.

"You may have gotten word, but Templar's attacked us without warning and destroyed our home. We lost everything. Except for each other, "Delilah continues, "We seek to find any possible survivors from the attack, but need a place to reside in order to do so," Delilah finishes.

As Al-Mualim was listening to her explanation he appeared to be lost in thought, as if contemplating his next move, or his next questions. He stayed silent for a minute, before continuing the conversation.

"I did hear about the attack, we received the message too late to send any help. I apologize for your loss. I will do what I can in taking back the land those Templar's took from you. I will take your pleas into consideration, but I need to know more about you before I can organize arrangements for you to reside here in Masyaf." Al-Mualim looks over the trio, his gaze stern, yet it slightly softens at the idea of a fellow brotherhood haven fallen.

"I'm Delilah Madrona, I taught our assassins to read and write. I educated them. I wish to do the same here. With respect, we have found a place to live already thanks to the kindness of the villagers," Delilah finishes a slight quiver in her voice.

"I go by Rakan Avariyas, I am a doctor. I treated the wounds of the assassins and I wish to be a doctor here as well, my main patient is our upcoming talented assassin here, Ralf. Ralf Larimar, unfortunately, cannot speak. He was badly injured by the Templar's, they cut his throat and it damaged his voice box. That is why he wears his mask to hide his scar, and his failure to take down that Templar, " Rakan sobs out. Crystal glares at him. _'He's being overly dramatic._ '

"Ralf, can you read and write?" Al-Mualim asks.

Crystal nods as a response.

"Good, the reason I ask is that we can have some small amounts of communication between us. Because trainees and lower ranked assassins stay and board here in our tower. Even if you have a place to reside with your friends, I will ask you to stay and train here. I doubt that will be a problem?" He replies.

Crystal looks over her friends, slightly panicked, but she steals herself. _'This is what I want, I can do this. Once I move up in their "ranks" then I can live freely with Delilah and Rakan. I just have to endure this. It's good that he is assuming my age and rank.'_ Crystal nods again to his question.

"I have some arrangements I need to prepare, but I would like to welcome you all to be a part of this brotherhood, please return tomorrow for my final answer. Until then, remember our tenants; follow them true, safety and peace. You may leave." Al-Mualim waves his hands and settles himself at his desk. Parchment and pen laced with fresh ink, ready to write.

The trio bow in respect and turn to leave, Al-Mualim pipes in one last word, "Young Ralf, be prepared for some training to determine your rank with our brotherhood. Also, bring your belongings as we will find a room for you here." Crystal faces the Master and gives a quick nod, then steps away.

They push past the villagers and enter their home. Delilah lets out a big huff as if she was holding her breath the entire time.

"That was scary. He has so much presence and power," Rakan shivers.

"Don't let your guard down," Delilah starts, "He sounds like he wants us to be of help, but he also stated he has to make arrangements. There is still time for him to change his mind about us. Also, no matter what we say, it seems like Crystal is going to have to be separated from us."

Crystal pulls down her mask, "It's alright, we got this far, I can handle it. Besides, I'm sure I will be given time to free roam and visit if needed."

"Even if he changes his mind in regards to me teaching reading and writing, we have to make sure Rakan can be an assassin doctor, or at least, your doctor. If other doctors examine you or heal your wounds you will be discovered, "Delilah's voice raises an octave as stress starts to settle.

The three continue their discussion well into the evening, coming up with multiple plans just in case things don't fall through. As the moon peaks at the nearest mountains apex, they all decide to rest up for the night and prepare what's to come.

Crystal prepares for her possible move, by packing all her gear and clothing to bring to the tower. Amongst her belongings she finds her golden belly dancer outfit freshly cleaned. She picks it up and holds the material close. Her nerves begin to bubble up and threaten to boil over. _'I'll have to thank Delilah for washing this...but I must ask of her to watch over this as it would look funny if I brought this with me.'_

She continues her packing, her eyes glance at her golden outfit every so often. The more she packs, the more her nerves fester and threaten to boil over. Eventually, her nerves get the better of her so she throws tosses some items to the side and grabs her dancer outfit.

 _'I need to dance. It's been so long since I've had some alone time. I know there is a small lake not to far from here...I can go there.'_ Before Crystal can think of an excuse not to go, she throws off her assassin robe and slips on her golden jewelry top, and matching silk skirt. To hide her form from the villager's eyes, she slips on a floor-length black cloak and steps out the house towards the stables to greet her horse companion Chief.

"Hey, Chief," Crystal unlatches his closure and steps to greet her sleeping mustang. As if sensing her presence he opens his jet-black orbs and whinnies as a response.

"Let's get a little fresh air boy." She slips him an apple to munch on as she saddles him up. Once his gear was secured, Crystal does not hesitate to jump on his saddle and ride him out in a gallop.

Crystal easily guides her mustang through the rough terrain with the control of the reins. Chief is smart and can feel what Crystal is trying to relay just by her control and grip on his reins. She loves the feeling of riding her horse; it's like a taste of freedom. She feels Chiefs four strong legs carry them forward, her mixed emotions flooding into Chief. He feels her nerves, but he also feels her excitement of the freedom he can provide her.

As the ride continues, Crystal does not wish this taste of freedom to end. Crystal can feel the pull and stretch of Chief's muscles. His hoofbeats all churn together to a create a sound of thunder, while the wind whips in Crystals eyes and down her throat making it almost impossible to catch her breath. As the ride continues her mind goes blank as Chiefs gallop becomes more erratic, wilder as his true personality comes to light. She and her companion never wish this feeling to end.

They ride across a small patch of desert into the pine-filled woods; Crystal slows Chief to a trot as they approach the lake. She guides him around the lake, just to observe her surroundings to ensure that she was alone. When she's determined no one is around she pulls Chief to a stop and slides off his saddle. She ties one part of his reigns to a low branch and pulls off his saddle so he can relax in comfort and eat freshly grown grass.

Crystal approaches the lake, happy to see some stones peeking out over the top of its waters. A couple of stones into the lake leads a trail to a large flat boulder perfect for standing on and for slight movements. Without hesitation, she slips off her robe living it next to her companion, and she hops across the rocks to the large flat surface.

She begins her movements, even though there are no instruments around her, she plays the music in her mind. She pulls her leg behind her, the movement causing her pelvis to shimmy in small circles. When her hips finish creating their circle, she lifts her arms up, pulling in her abs, releasing the tension, pulling it upwards to her chest in a drop and lift motion.

Crystal continues her movements, entranced by her own natural flow of her body. Her senses become engulfed in the natural sounds and smell of the woods around her. That feeling of freedom returns to her to washing away her nerves from the day. As she continues to roll her hips and chest she fails to notice a man approaching the lake.

The man pushes onward through between low branches. Ready for the cool lake to soothe his aching muscles. When he clears the trees, he notices a peculiar looking woman in the middle of the lake. He watches her movements, entranced by her curves and how much control she has over her body. Her looks are unique and intriguing to him. He has not seen a woman with such pale skin that glows in the moonlight. Her platinum blonde hair tied in a loose braid hanging down to her waist, the string threatening to untie itself at every step she takes. He finds himself wanting to call out to her, find out her name, see what color eyes that go with her unique features.

' _Why am I hesitating? I've never had issues with speaking with women. They are more of a nuisance anyway. That's right, this woman is an annoyance, I plan to bathe here for the night and she needs to leave."_ The man shakes his head and pulls himself out of the woman's hypnotic dance.

"Woman!" A man shouts out at Crystal. She stops her movements and looks around trying to find the source of the voice.

"You should not be here at this hour. You should leave." He continues.

 _'Who does he think he is? I can stay here if I like."_

Crystal looks at the opposite end of the lake to find an assassin from the brotherhood. She puffs out her cheeks in annoyance and yells back without hesitation.

"Who are you to tell me to leave? I will leave when I'm ready."

"Foolish! I could be a bandit, a thief, or someone who gets pleasure in murdering the innocent. You should not be out here without protection." The man growls out.

"Well, you are a man from the brotherhood, are you not? I know you will stay your blade from the flesh of an innocent. So, protect me from these bandits, thieves, and murderers." Crystal smirks.

"I did not come here to babysit, how do you know I'm apart of the brotherhood?"

Crystal hesitates and she glances over at the assassin. _'I'm digging my own grave. Me and my big mouth, let's think my way out of this.'_

"I'm familiar with the brotherhood. I would sometimes dance for their entertainment. I was visiting for a couple of days and I plan on leaving Masyaf in the morning. "

"I would know if you were amongst the dancers. You stand out because of your pale skin and almost white hair." He replies.

"Maybe you were away while I was dancing? I don't dance all the time." Crystal quickly speaks trying to wiggle her way out of this conversation, but also not backing down, "Next time I dance, I'll save a dance for you. Tell me, Assassin, what is your name?"

"If you must know my name than I must know of yours. My name is Altair."

Crystal's amethyst eyes gaze at the assassin calling himself 'Altair', remembering that he was the rude male that disrespected the Master and shoved his way past her friends.

"Crystal," she replies curtly. Her head was screaming at her to leave so he does not engrave her face into his mind so he can recognize her but her will and stubbornness were telling her to stay and to not give him the pleasure of winning this discussion.


	6. Arrogant Assassin

A few moments of silence past with no words exchanged between the two. Crystal shrugs and turns away from Altair to continue dancing. _"That's odd, I figured he would talk more, or at least try to get me to leave. Why isn't he saying anything?_ ' She is pulled from her thoughts and halts her dancing when a splashing sound echoes throughout the woods and cold water sprays across her bare back. Her body coils and she lets out a high pitched squeal, she turns to face the cause. _'He probably threw a rock that...,_ ' Her thoughts go blank as her eyes fall on the perfectly sculpted bare-back of the assassin.

"What are you doing!?" She squeals out, her cheeks warming at the site in front of her.

"Trying to bathe." He replies casually as he runs a hand through his short brunette hair.

"Y-y-you can't just strip naked in front of a woman!" Crystal stutters. Her face heats up at the site of his bare back. _'Why am I getting flustered? It's not like I've never seen a naked man before.'_

 _"_ I see no "woman" in front of me, but a child refusing to let a man have privacy." Altair retorts.

"And I see a "man" disrespecting a woman's space and calling her a 'child'. Also, I was here first," Crystal spats.

"Whether you were here first is irrelevant. You should leave so I may have some privacy."

"YOU should leave so I can have privacy." Crystal huffs out. To try and not be faltered by him, Crystal decides to continue her dance practice. Her movements and steps falter, she finds it hard to focus with a naked man in the lake.

After a few missteps in her dance routine, she sighs heavily. She's frustrated at herself and at the man in the lake.

"How about you bathe later and when I leave you can have your privacy." Crystal hisses out.

Altair turns around, his perfectly sculpted torso revealed to Crystals gaze. Crystal can't help herself but look him up and down, her cheeks heating up at the warmest she has ever felt them. Her amethyst eyes briefly meet his amber ones a smirk gracing his lips, she turns her head away. _"What is wrong with me? I'm acting like I'm a teenager with my hormones taking control.'_

"Crystal, you are clearly a stubborn woman so there is no point in arguing with you. It's a waste of time. So I will just do as I wish. If you don't like it then you may leave. Or maybe...you don't want to leave because you like what you see." Altair continues his smirk, she feels his gaze never leaving her form.

 _'He's...he's so full of himself, and I'm more stressed now than when I first arrived here!'_ Crystal meets his gaze, determination in her stare to not let him get the better of her, her cheeks still tinted pink.

"Why should I be the one to leave!? You're the one that interrupts my dancing, gets naked and demands me to leave. So rude...have you no shame!?" Crystal flusters out. Trying to keep her cool, but she thinks she might actually lose this battle. _'This would be easier if he wasn't naked...wait...why is he getting closer!?'_ Crystal steps back, noticing Altair approaching, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Hey...why...why are you coming closer?"

"You are leaving Masyaf tomorrow, correct? Lay with me." He bluntly asks. No, falter in his words.

 _'Did...did I hear him right? What!? We were just arguing and now he wants me to sleep with him!'_

"You..." Crystal steps forward confidence returning to her, "You wanted me to leave...now you want me to lay with you? You called me 'annoying' and you called me a 'child'. You really have no shame, you're rude and disrespectful," Crystal huffs out.

"You ARE an annoying woman and childish, but you are also attractive. I can also see the stress in your muscles as you dance." He replies.

"What does my stress have to do with anything?" Crystal glares.

"Clearly your dancing isn't releasing the tension in your muscles," He starts.

 _'It was until you showed up'_

"I too, need to relieve stress and this lake isn't helping."

"What are you getting at?!" Crystal spats.

"I figured we could release tension together. That's why I asked you to lay with me tonight." Altair replies.

Crystal shakes her head, her hands ball into a fist. Her frustration growing, _'I want to punch him! If he thinks he can just control the situation like this, he has another thing coming!_ ' Crystal steps closer towards the smirking assassin preparing to swing her fist. Before she can raise her arm to make the swing her foot slips from the rock. A loud splash is heard as water flows all around her.

Her form completely submerges in the cool waters followed by a sharp pain throbbing from the back of her head. Her vision is blurred by the pain coursing through her head. _'I...fell?'_ Crystal loses her breath fast, as her lungs begin to fill with water when she suddenly fell in. The cool waters would normally be comforting to the heat that her body was feeling, but in this case, it's an unwelcoming nauseating shock causing her body to still as she lets the ebb and flow of the current embrace her.

What felt like an eternity was only a few moments while her form was submerged. Crystal feels a pull on her upper arm as her torso gets tickled by the wind. Fresh air tries to fill her water-filled lungs; she hangs her head low as she coughs violently to rid her stomach and lungs of the lake water. With her head throbbing, she puts her free hand on her head, feeling warm liquid on her hair and trickling down her cheek.

"Your clumsy for a dancer," Altair states with his hand gripping her forearm to hold her up.

Crystal turns her head to face him, not even sure if she is looking at his face as her vision is still blurred, "I'm not clumsy! I was going to punch you but I slipped."

"You slipping from trying to punch me means you're clumsy. Also, you must have hit your head because you're bleeding," He bluntly responds.

Crystal pulls her hand from her head and looks at her palm, "So I am...oow...heh...I have a bump there." A wave of dizziness hits her; her body begins to lean to the side, threatening to fall back into the cool water. A calloused hand catches her waist and pulls her forward; her head bumps into a muscled chest. Her blurred vision clears for a moment as she realized she only goes up to his chest than she tilts her head to see his face. _'He's tall..._ ' Her body begins to heat up again as she notices her close proximity to him.

"We need to stop your bleeding." Altair releases her forearm and wraps his arm around her waist, and pulls her flush against his body to steady her. His other hand slides down her waist and down her hip to grab at her skirt.

Crystal's body shivers at his touch, she swears if her body heats up anymore this lake will turn into a hot spring. _"Why is he concerned all of a sudden? Why is he grabbing the edge of my skirt?'_ She processes her thought for a moment when she realizes what he wants to do with her skirt, she grabs his wrist and pulls his hand away.

"Don't...this skirt...was my mothers don't tear it," She pouts, her vision blurring again, black spots dancing around her, "Why are you so concerned?" Her body feels weak, _'How much blood did I lose? Why is my body giving out on me? I'm an assassin...I've been wounded worse than this. Ah,...it's because of the situation. Ugh...my head...'_

"Because you're bleeding and helpless," He answers.

"I'm not... helpless," Crystal tries to push herself away from him, but she swears his grip tightens.

"You are swaying and losing conscious, stop acting like a child."

"I'm fine and I'm not a child!" Crystal yells out a little too loudly, "Let me go." Crystal pulls away from his grip and backs into the rock. She turns around and attempts to hop back onto the rock, but slips back into the water.

"Stubborn woman." Altair watches her slip a couple of times while trying to get on the rock. After a few more attempts he can't stand to watch her anymore as her body gets weaker with each try, her arms visibly shaking. He grabs her by her waist getting a squeal and a few 'let me go' yells, as he lifts her up to settle her on the flat surface of the rock.

Crystal scrambles on top the rock planting her butt firmly on the surface, not yet ready to stand until her dizziness passes and her vision clears. She keeps her back to Altair, not wanting to praise that arrogant man.

"I...did not need your help," She weakly replies. _'I'm not weak, I am strong.'_

"Turn around."

"No."

"Fine, then I will come to you." Altair makes his way around the rock to face her, Crystal puffs out her cheeks in annoyance. Without warning, he grabs her hips rather roughly and pulls her to the edge so her legs are in the water. He frowns as he notices her trying to lean away from him. He lets go of her hips to grab her knees, he pulls them apart and steps in-between them resting her knees on each side of his toned waist with his hips flush against that rock.

"What are you doing!?" Crystal gasps out her feeling as if it will explode from either the pain or the intimate position he has put her body in.

"Lean forward. I need to see the extent of the wound." He replies his amber eyes glaring into her amethyst ones, a touch of concern underlying in his rough expression. Her body sways slightly forward due to her dizziness and he seizes the opportunity to cup her cheeks with his calloused hands. Her body betrays her and she welcomes his touch and relaxes into his caress her eyes flutter shut.

He tips her head slightly to assess her injury. He hesitantly removes a hand from her cheek to push her bloodied hair strands to find the source. To his surprise, she stayed still and did not struggle away from him.

"The injury is deep it will need to be stitched by a doctor. Your body probably feels weak due to the sudden blood loss and shock. The wound does need to be dressed to stop the bleeding and prevent infection."

"Ok, I can dress it myself than I'll go find a doctor," _'Rakan is going to kill me, and Delilah is going to lecture me.'_

"If I let you go, you will fall off this rock and you may hit your head again."

"I'm fine," Crystal pulls away from him and plants her feet firmly on the rock. She pulls her torso up, legs shaking. Once she's fully standing, she looks around and smiles "See? I'm not weak; I've been through worse things than this."

As she finished her sentence another wave a pain shoots from her head and snakes its way throughout her body. Her vision blackens as she loses consciousness. Her body falls forward, threatening to submerge into the lake once again.

Altair catches the wounded dancer before she plunges into the lake. He sweeps an arm under her legs to carry her bridal style to the land. He gently sets her down, "If you weren't so stubborn you would not have gotten to this weak state." He dries off his body as much as he can before dressing back into his robes before addressing the foreign dancer in front of him.

He gently turns her head to look at the cut. Blood still leaks out, but it seems to have slow down. He rips off the end of his robe and wraps it around her head to cover the wound to stop the bleeding. He tares off another piece off his robe to wipe the blood that trickled down the side of her face.

"Keaton..." Crystal whispers out, "Fine...your right...I don't want Mom and Dad to find out about this..." Her face relaxes and her breathing slows a steady rhythm.

The steady thump of footsteps echoed in Crystal's ears as she jumps rooftop to rooftop. Adrenaline coursing through her veins, as her pursuers behind her shoot an arrow barely missing her. She looks over her shoulder to see a group of Templar's chasing her, while the Templar's decorating the higher rooftops knock another arrow.

"This way!" Crystal turns her head to see a fellow assassin making an abrupt turn, she stumbles a bit but follows after him.

The two assassins continue to push forward. They reach an edge of a roof and stop their running to see the ocean below them. The two assassins turn to find another path, but the Templar's are surrounding them.

"We have to jump!" Crystal yells at the other assassin.

"We can fight our way out of this." He replies.

"No, we cannot! There is too many of them. We are going to jump and swim away."

The tall man turns to face her and growls out, "We can not run from this fight especially against Templar's. We. Will. Fight."

"Assassins will only fight if necessary. This is not necessary. We need to adapt and think of a better solution. No wonder you got demoted from Master Assassin. Jump! They are coming!"

The man grabs at her robes and pulls her up to his face, her toes barely touching the rooftop due to his height and strength, "Fight!" He growls out his amber eyes burning into her orbs.

A small movement behind them catches Crystal's attention. She moves her orbs away from the angry amber ones. A Templar shot an arrow amidst the chaos unfolding before them; the arrows path aimed at the males back. With no time to yell out a warning Crystal smacks at his hands causing him to let her go. She pulls on his robes and pivots her foot at the same time pulling him to the side, switching their positions.

The arrow was luckily poorly aimed, and it ends up lodging itself into her shoulder. She grips at the man's robes her knuckles turning white; she grits her teeth in hopes to hold back the pain.

"Jump!" She uses her full body weight to pull her and her companion down into the ocean below.

 **A/N**

 **I deeply deeply apologize if Altair seems OOC. Its just...I'm sorta writing this part were Altair hasn't had any..um...company in awhile and he is attracted to Crystal. Long story short he is interested in sleeping with her, even though they are having this banter. Also, but the way I see Altair he may be arrogant and may not appear to care about women, but when you play the game you can run around and save people. So I can see him helping her out in this situation. Hopefully, that makes sense.**

 **Also! I'm sorry for the wait. I had to focus on my cosplays and I'm so glad I did! I won best in show at the hallway cosplay contest!**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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